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E 0907 -THER
The words " father" and " mother" are of Germanic and Indo European
origin
H 0662 ר
ט
נ
Concept of root : protection, preservation
Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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ר ט נ
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nathar
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to protect,
preserve, guard
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Related English words
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-ther, in father, mother
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Comparison between European words and
Hebrew
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Languages
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Words
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Pronunciation
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English meanings
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Similarity in roots
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Hebrew
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ר ט נ
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nathar
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to protect, guard, preserve
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n . th . r
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Greek
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τηρεω
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tèreo
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to guard, preserve
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t . r .
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English
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-ther
( father , mother )
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-ther
( father ,
mother )
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th . r
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Proto-Semitic *NATHAR < *THÈR --- *TÈR-EO Greek < *TÈR Indo-European
A nice clear similarity, apart from the initial N in Hebrew, that must be seen as a confirming prefix though. Hebrew itself offers some collateral evidence for this, with the root " ע ט ר , ‛athar = to surround, protect", as in Psalm 5.13: "encompassing with favour like a shield".
Note:
- English, together with most European languages, from Greek onwards, has this root in daily use as the second part of the words father and mother, as well as brother and sister. A mother is the "ma (who) protects (her child)" and a father is the "pa (who) protects (his child)". See our chapter "Fathers and sons" (Hebrew 0001_aa18).
The "TH" in English "father", not found in Greek and Latin, is not the same as the Hebrew " TH " in "nathar". It is a typically English development out of a " D ", as found in for example "the" instead of "de".
Note:
- Hebrew. This root "N TH R" has a sister root in "N TS R" with the same general message.
Note:
- Proto-Semitic. "N TH R" is seen in Aramaic and Syriac " נ ט ר , nethar = he kept, guarded" and in Arabic "nathara" with the same messages . The mentioned root "N TS R" is found in Ethiopian and Akkadian . Possibly the Hebrew root existed as well in Proto-Semitic "* נ ט ר , N TH R". And with the first consonant " N " considered a confirming prefix, an older form should have been present in Proto-Semitic : "* ט ר , TH R". In our comparison we have placed a vowel " È ", but also " Ă " may have been in use. As shown above, in Hebrew itself we find collateral evidence for this hypothesis, that finds further support in the similarity with Indo-European .
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Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 14/11/2012 at 12.19.33 |
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